Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.30.2007 Today I get to interview one of my favorite people in the world, Cyndy Salzmann, and talk about her latest novel, Crime and Clutter ! A storage unit, a 1963 Volkswagen minibus, and tattered letters...reveal shattering secrets from the '60s. It's been a year since Mary Alice lost her father -- the father she never really knew. Now she's stuck cleaning out his rubbish from a storage unit. Just when she'd rather it all go away from her well-ordered life, her long-held secret is discovered by the feisty Marina, one of the six members of the Friday Afternoon Club. When these friends make it their mission to help Mary Alice tackle her stash, they arrive at the storage unit, prepared to clean. But what they discover takes them on a riotous ride through the crime and clutter of the sixties, the angst and betrayal of those caught in The Revolution, and the forgiveness that can only come through acceptance of a different kind of Cause. ...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.29.2007 Leave any prayer requests in the comments and I’ll be praying this week. You don’t have to be Christian to leave a prayer request. If you’d rather not advertise to everyone on the blogosphere, just leave an unspoken prayer request or e-mail me. If I forgot your prayer request, e-mail me. Not to be mean or anything, but if you don't e-mail me or comment to update your prayer request, I'm only going to pray ONE Sunday. I’m trying something new with my Sunday Prayer. I’m really bad about doing it on Sunday , so I’ll be updating it during the week. Dear Lord Jesus, I pray for complete healing for Dineen’s daughter. Thank you for a diagnosis so they know what’s wrong. Please help Cheryl to finish writing her book quickly and that it’ll be even better than before. Help her to writer efficiently. Please also help her as she coordinates all her contests. Please protect Missy's son on his mission trip. I pray you'll bless the trip. I pray Heath...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.27.2007 More art from Captain Caffeine’s espresso machine Isn’t this one kind of neat? This would be perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Captain’s Log, Supplemental When I went wine-tasting with my parents a couple weeks ago, we visited Rodney Strong winery and it was there I saw this chocolate bar. It's a Red Fire Bar, with Mexican ancho and chipotle chilies, cinnamon, and dark chocolate. Being the adventurous type, I bought it to try it. I’m not disappointed. I’ve always enjoyed Mexican hot chocolate, which has cinnamon in it, and this reminded me of it. It also has a kick of pepper that I don’t really taste until after the chocolate is almost entirely melted in my mouth—then I can taste the spiciness at the back of my throat. I think, personally, it could use a little less pepper—just enough to give a kick but not enough to be so noticeable. On a whole, though, this is quite good. I’m also surfing the chocolatier’s website and drooling over the unusual chocolates they have! How about you? Any unusual or fabulous chocolate you’ve had?

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.25.2007 WOW! I’m so glad Rel suggested this miniseries from BBC. I’m not even going to go down the scoring because all aspects of it were great. Costumes were beautiful and just varied enough to be interesting, but not so much as to stand out and make me wonder that the heroine kept getting new clothes. The camera/filming was as professional as the BBC/A&E version of Pride and Prejudice , and the musical score was absolutely gorgeous. I liked the actors a lot. Richard Armitage plays the hard, yet romantic hero with as much aplomb as Colin Firth. He’s got those brooding eyes and stern jaw that were perfect for the character, and he’s mighty fine to look at, too! LOL (Just kidding, Captain Caffeine!) The actress who played the heroine reminded me of a younger, British, and slightly shorter Angelina Jolie. She also was normal in terms of body type, which was refreshing to see and made her seem more likeable and believable. I haven’t read the book by Elizab...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.24.2007 Yup, I’m at it again. My new Bible needs a cover, and one of my youth group kids suggested I knit one. This was a great idea because I wanted a cover that was pink and fuzzy. Isn’t it awesome? I used 7 types of eyelash yarn for the stripes. I knitted the cover with one strand of eyelash yarn held together with one strand of worsted weight acrylic yarn, and I did a simple garter stitch. I made a mistake and the cover ended up too long, so I had to fold the edges over. I also made the inside sections with two strands of worsted weight yarn, but I should have used just one strand because it’s a bit bulky. However, on a whole, I’m pretty pleased with it. What do you guys think?

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Come visit the Carnival!